North Attleborough [formerly a part of Attleborough] is an industrial town on the Rhode Island border. In pre-Colonial times, it was the site of the Bay Path, a major Indian trail to Narragansett Bay, the Seekonk River and Boston. John Woodcock and family established a small settlement in North Attleborough in 1669, which subsisted on agriculture, fishing and hunting. By 1670, Woodcock had received a license to open a tavern. The settlement was attacked during King Philip's War, with two killed and one home burned, but the Garrison house which Woodcock had built survived the attack. The Woodcock-Garrison house was used as sleeping quarters for George Washington on his army's march to Boston to rid the city of General Thomas Gage's troops. The Woodcock-Garrison house is still open for tours and is an especially popular destination for field trips by local school children.

By 1776, there were 2200 people living in North Attleborough. In about 1780, a French settler set up a forge for working brass and the industrial era arrived in [1] Attleborough. Englishmen brought with them British machinery from Birmingham in 1794 and designed American improvements in button making which they patented. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, small grist and sawmills were built along the Ten Mile River, and subsequently established nail factories were eventually eclipsed by cotton spinning mills. The development of cotton spinning was spurred by the embargo on imports resulting from the War of 1812. Textiles and jewelry manufacturing were the staple industries of the town by 1832 but buttons were king. By 1834, it was said that North Attleboro produced more buttons than anywhere else in the United States.

Until 1887, North Attleborough was part of Attleborough. The residents of the village of East Attleborough (now Attleborough centre) chose to secede, and had the higher population and the votes to keep the name of Attleboro, the traditional spelling. When re-incorporating as the City of Attleborough, they chose to officially alter the name of their city. North Attleborough, the original settlement, kept the original official spelling, but lost the distinction of being Attleborough, and its founding date of 1694 was also appropriated by Attleborough.

In the twentieth century, North Attleborough was home at various times to the jewelry firms Jostens, the world's largest class ring manufacturer and the Balfour Company, prominent maker of championship rings including for the National Football League's Super Bowl champions and Major League Baseball's World Series' winners.

Through the 19th century there was tremendous growth and innovation in the jewelry industry and the number of firms in the town increased sharply. By 1855, there were 24 shops making almost $1 million in jewelry in both Attleborough and North Attleborough. The American Civil War spurred their growth with profitable U.S. Army orders for badges and medals. In 1887, North Attleboro was officially incorporated as a town. Today it is a thriving center of business and commerce with a small industrial park and many shops and stores along US Route 1 which travels through the center of town.

In 2006, North Attleborough was rated in the top ten for professional sports communities in the entire country and was also listed as one of the most affordable and safest places to raise a family.

The town has several rivers, streams and brooks running through it, including the Ten Mile River and the Seven Mile River. There are several ponds and lakes, including Greenwood Lake (site of a fish hatchery) and Falls Pond, among others. The town's largest park, World War I Memorial Park, is located in the northern part of town and contains the highest point in Bristol County - Sunrise Hill (Watery Hill) at 390 feet above sea level. World War I Memorial Park features a petting zoo, Petti Field for soccer and lacrosse and a ski/sledding hill with J-bar ski lift which is currently inoperable. There is also the North Attleborough Arboretum adjacent to the park.

On High Street, one block from Route 1A is an ice-skating pond called Titus Pond which is maintained by the North Attleborough Rotary Club and filled each winter by the Fire Department.

There are five cemeteries in North Attleborough: the diminutive and inactive Woodcock Cemetery across from the Woodcock-Garrison house just north of downtown; Paine Road Cemetery near the Cumberland, Rhode Island, border; Mt. Hope Cemetery & Arboretum; the old St. Mary's Cemetery and the new St. Mary's Cemetery. The latter three are located in the village of Attleborough Falls.

There were 10,391 households of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% were non-families. 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.15.

Age distribution was 26.9% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 34.4% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males.

The median household income was $59,371, and the median family income was $69,461. Males had a median income of $47,645 versus $31,522 for females. The per capita income for the town was $25,974. About 2.7% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.0% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 or over.

North Attleborough has a representative town meeting form of government, with an elected board of selectmen and a town administrator appointed by the selectmen. The North Attleborough Police Department is located downtown in the old H.F. Barrows Manufacturing Company Building at 102 South Washington St. There are three fire stations, located downtown on Elm Street just off Route 1, Allen Ave behind Emerald Square Mall and on Route 152 in the eastern portion of town. There are also two post offices, downtown (using the 02760 ZIP code) and in Attleboro Falls (02763).

The town has its own school department, led by Superintendent of Schools Suzan Cullen since May 2011. Superintendent Cullen announced her retirement at the end of January 2017. In December 2016 the School Committee voted, after a screening process from dozens of applicants, to appoint Assistant Superintendent Scott Holcomb, Superintendent effective February 1, 2017. The Superintendent is appointed by an elected School Committee of 7 serving staggered three year terms. Schools are funded by local RTM appropriation of available funds raised from local taxes and State aid. Between 2002 through 2012 State aid has been reduced by over $1,000,000.00 annually. Between 2012 and 2014 the School Committee has imposed fees for student parking, student activities, busing, and full day kindergarten to address the lack of operating revenue. Resulting in over $600,000 annually from fees, the North Attleborough school System remains one of the lowest funded schools, based on per pupil expenditure, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Efforts to raise revenue by increases in local taxes failed by a 2-1 margin in 2013, and again in 2015, albeit by a much narrower margin. As a result, Allen Avenue Elementary School was closed at the conclusion of the 2014-2015 school year and about 900 elementary school students in all parts of town were redistricted to new elementary schools. According to The Sun Chronicle,[13] enrollment in the North Attleborough Public Schools dropped by 165 in the 2015-16 school year, largely due to an unusually high number of high school students opting to attend nearby private or technical schools in light of the budget issues.

The high school's official team mascot is the Red Rocketeers, a name which comes from North Attleborough's unique red rocks found only in northern Bristol County and Cumberland, RI, and the school colors are red and white. The town's sports teams are also often nicknamed "The Rockets" or "Big Red" and North Attleboro is sometimes referred to as "Big Red Country" due to its proud history of a strong athletic department backed by widespread local and loyal school spirit. North Attleboro High School sports teams compete in the Kelley-Rex (or large school) division of the Hockomock League, consisting of area high schools including rivals Attleboro and Mansfield High Schools. NAHS's chief rival is Attleboro High School. The football teams play each other twice a year, once during the regular season and once on Thanksgiving. The Thanksgiving location alternates each year and the regular season game is held at the opposite site. Almost all other sports play each team in the Kelley-Rex division twice per season and each team in the Davenport (or small school) division once in the regular season. NAHS boasts a tradition of winning sports teams and regularly competes in state playoffs.

"The North Attleborough Public Library was established in 1889, by the North Attleborough Union Improvement District, which turned its library over to the town."[14] Today the Richards Memorial Library is located downtown, and is a member of SAILS library network, a network of libraries in Southeastern Massachusetts.[15] In fiscal year 2008, the town spent 0.77% ($572,874) of its budget on its public library—some $20 per person.[16]

Interstates 95 and 295 meet just over the Attleborough line, and both run through the town. Each interstate has one exit within town. The town is also bisected by U.S. Route 1, which runs through the retail and downtown districts. Massachusetts state routes 120 and 152 also run through town, as does the "middle" portion of Route 1A, which begins in the town.

Joseph W. Martin, Jr. (1884–1968), Republican US representative, Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1947–1949 and 1953–1955. Publisher of the North Attleborough Chronicle. The J.W. Martin Elementary School is named in his honor.

Jerod Mayo is an American football linebacker for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL)

Allen Ripley -A former Boston and Pawtucket Red Sox, his best year as a pro came in 1977 with the Red Sox minor league affiliate in Pawtucket when he had a record of 15 wins and four losses. The next year he was promoted to Boston and went 2-5. He also played for the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs. Upon retirement in 1982 he had a career record of 23-27.

^"1950 Census of Population"(PDF). 1: Number of Inhabitants. Bureau of the Census. 1952. Section 6, Pages 21-10 and 21-11, Massachusetts Table 6. Population of Counties by Minor Civil Divisions: 1930 to 1950. Retrieved July 12, 2011.

^"1920 Census of Population"(PDF). Bureau of the Census. Number of Inhabitants, by Counties and Minor Civil Divisions. Pages 21-5 through 21-7. Massachusetts Table 2. Population of Counties by Minor Civil Divisions: 1900, 1910, and 1920. Retrieved July 12, 2011.

^"1890 Census of the Population"(PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. Pages 179 through 182. Massachusetts Table 5. Population of States and Territories by Minor Civil Divisions: 1880 and 1890. Retrieved July 12, 2011.